Sabbatical Research Grant Programme

The Organisation for Social Science Research in Eastern and Southern Africa (OSSREA) is a regional research and capacity-building organisation based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Its mission is to develop and promote the emergence of a culture of excellence in the study, research and training in the social sciences.

OSSREA is offering Sabbatical Research Grants to successful applicants based in eastern and southern Africa. The programme uses the academic calendar year as its base. An application may be made with respect to only the current and/or the following calendar year within the period of the Sabbatical. Proposals may be submitted by researchers from any of the disciplines in the social sciences involving applied social and economic analysis of contemporary development issues.

African scholars based in various institutions in the region often go outside the region for their sabbaticals. This programme is, therefore, intended to give an opportunity to these scholars to arrange their sabbaticals in the various research institutions and universities found in the region, and hence, strengthen the teaching and research capacity of the region and encourage South-South cooperation.

All applicants must be based in eastern or southern Africa, currently employed, enrolled in or otherwise affiliated with a national institution which conducts research. They must hold a PhD degree from an accredited academic institution and a minimum of seven years full-time university teaching experience. The applicant's institution must endorse the research to be undertaken and be willing to provide some support to the applicant.

A complete proposal should contain the following:

1. A current curriculum vitae;

2. Date of sabbatical;

3. A copy of the application for sabbatical leave;

4. Location(s) of proposed research (with specifics as to institution or other research site);

5. Other research support available during leave;

6. Title of research project;

7. Research plan (objective, scope, significance, literature review, method of approach and design of research, and bibliography);

8. Any research or other scholarly endeavour previously undertaken in this or a related field;

9. List of publications or equivalent endeavour in the last five years;

10. A break-down of the budget (describes each item and indicates how it is related to the research project):

1. Travel (includes specific information concerning places to be visited, mode of travel, rates, subsistence cost at approved rates, etc.). Travel expenses of spouse and children may not be claimed;

2. Assistants (includes duration and rate of pay);

3. Materials and supplies (itemize where appropriate);

4. Other costs (specify).
   

   1. Eligible Costs - costs of photocopying, typing, supplies, field expenditures, drafting, archival photo reprints, manuscript copying, printing, publication costs, conference attendance, shipping charges of research effects to research destination and return, books, journals directly related to the research project, bench fees and other reasonable costs.
      

   2. Ineligible Costs - cost of research assistant(s) attending conference, course fees, membership in professional societies, visas, medical insurance, office rental, proportion of mortgage and other expenses for in-home office, exchange, consulting and commuting while sojourning.

11. A letter of endorsement from the institution of affiliation, and official clearance from the relevant government authority (in countries where this is applicable). The letter should state that: a) the institution will benefit from the proposed research activity; and b) the activity is timely and appropriate for the field of interest of the researcher. (To be submitted upon receiving the letter of grant award).

12. The size of the proposal should be limited to a maximum of 10-15 pages with 1.5 line-spacing. Applications that exceed the stated page limit will not be considered at all.

13. Applicants should submit only one research proposal to this grant competition. Those who submit more than one proposal will be disqualified automatically.

14. Individuals who have won once in previous OSSREA competitions are eligible after 3 years since they last won an OSSREA grant.

The budget for the proposed research should not exceed US$15,000 and may be used to cover actual research costs (e.g. local travel and subsistence, supplies, acquisition of documents, photocopying, etc.).

Research grants will be awarded on the recommendation of a panel of scholars drawn from eastern and southern Africa. The panel will blind-review all proposals.

Successful applicants will be expected to take up their awards within three months from the date of notification. Normally, the award will be good for a period no longer than the sabbatical, by which time a final report and a statement of accounts for the grant fund expended would have been submitted to OSSREA.

Grantees will be required to submit to OSSREA their final research reports in one hard copy, and another copy on a CD or a floppy disk, and deposit copies of their final research reports with the relevant university library, sponsoring academic department or the national archive(s) in the country where the research was conducted.

Grant applications and proposals should be submitted to OSSREA by mail before 31st July 2007. Electronic submissions will be accepted as long as the supporting documents are sent by mail. Completed applications and inquiries should be addressed to:

The Coordinator
Sabbatical Research Grant Programme
OSSREA
P.O. Box 31971
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Tel.: 251-11-1239484/1239717
Fax: 251-11-1223921
E-mail: Sabbatical@ossrea.net
Web site: http://www.ossrea.net

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